


Swan Queen Roadhouse AU

by DestinyFreeReally



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F, roadhouse au, um
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-24 15:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 4,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6158512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DestinyFreeReally/pseuds/DestinyFreeReally
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>.... Roadhouse is a terrible Patrick Swayze movie so I thought I'd do a Swan Queen rewrite and fix some of it, and leave some of it very cheesy and very Bad. Emma Swan is the jaded been-at-it-too-long club bouncer here and Regina is ... well, I fleshed her out considerably more because the real roadhouse kind of just has her as "love interest" so... you'll see. ?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

     Watchful eyes warned the entire club, just like they did every night. _'Trouble isn't welcome here, and neither are you, buddy'_   Emma Swan had nodded to her coworkers when several very loud, very drunk, very  _agitated_ young men and women were ready to be extricated from the club. One guy had even tried to goad her into fighting him.  _Yeah, right._ Just from looking at him Emma knew kicking his ass wouldn't be worth the scuff on her boot.  
  
     Bastard came at her with a knife, spitting taunts about her being a glorified bouncer, even if she  _was_  supposedly freaky strong for a scary, small, blonde woman. She hadn't even had to nod to the other guys about where that dirtbag needed to be sent after he swiped at her with a switchblade. Some nights the club was quiet, and some nights the door could've been revolving. Tonight was somewhere in between. Early spring, people itchy to get out and get rowdy, but still shaking off the tail end of winter. Emma _hated_ when assholes cut her, though. It made her calm down the rumors that she couldn't physically bleed.   
       
     She'd been a "glorified bouncer" for a long time, though. Since....well,  _since._ And sometimes bastards came at you with knives. That's why she kept a good staff, a tight lip, and boots that didn't scuff easy on dirtbags.   
  
  



	2. Storybrooke, Maine

     "They said you were impressive." A brunette strolled in, cut off shorts under a blazer, and Emma's head was spinning with calculation before the girl got all the way in her office.   
  
      "That depends on who 'they' are. And what impresses you." She gave the girl an almost smile and went back to bandaging the cut from the angry, drunk bastard they'd wrestled outside.  
  
      "You're Emma Swan, right?" The girl waited a beat and leaned against the door she closed. "My name's Ruby Lucas."  
  
     "I've never heard of a Ruby Lucas...trust me, I would've remembered you." Dousing the cut and bandage in probably-stinging antiseptic, Emma didn't even flinch.  
  
     "We've, uh, never met. I have a club. Me and my Grandma have a club." The girl, Ruby, seemed all of a sudden like she wasn't sure what she was there for. After a pause, she seemed to remember. "We used to do good business, with good folks, you know? Fun, partying, drinking, dancing, music..." Ruby paused again. "Now when I sweep up at night I find teeth; and not a few." Emma flashed another quick smile. This girl wasn't wasting her time, she knew that, but she was certainly taking her time about this. "We've heard stories...you...help people." She gestured vaguely with her hand.  
  
     "Those stories probably aren't true. What sort of help do you want?" Emma couldn't lie. She was interested. She'd been in this town too long. Could use someplace else to see. New people to throw out every night.   
  
     "My Granny has a shotgun. I'd like for her not to have to use it just to run a bar, you know?" The girl let out a sigh she'd apparently been holding since she came in. "We can pay. A lot. Make it worth the trip, you know?"   
  
     "Hopefully your Granny won't have to use that shotgun. I have a few...conditions. Aside from the money. Which helps your case, by the way." Emma rolled back down her sleeve, satisfied with her work tonight and her work at this club. She took a deep breath and thought about her conditions. 

    "Decisions I make, are final. I see something I don't like, I get rid of it and it stays gone. I'm not going to argue with management since you sought me out and brought me in. You either trust me to clean up your act or you don't. You pay medical expenses. And anything you hear about me I never wanna know, got it?" Emma cocked an eyebrow, voice serious as the grave.  
  
     "That's it? Psh. Done. I thought you'd be scarier. Or at least taller." Ruby pulled a yellow envelope out of her blazer pocket.  "Here's this as the offer. $500 a night sound okay to you?" Emma nodded to the girl. "Okay. So, have you ever heard of Storybrooke, Maine?"


	3. Chapter 3

     Her mother's hands expertly weaved long spiraled braids into her head as Regina waited for the other shoe to drop. Cora had been in "meetings" all morning, discussing Storybrooke's latest gossip and dirt across clean, fine tables adorned with china and silk. Not practical, but Regina had to admit delicate and ornate. The delicacies of her life, this life, Regina knew she would have to answer for one day, and every second thought was trying to find a way out of that. Her mother was Cora Mills, infamous in Storybrooke for....lots of things. Orchestrating lots of things. Regina rarely ever saw her mother's own hands dirty. She had Killian, Graham, or Robin, or sometimes even Regina herself for that. 'Crime boss' sounded a bit too Hollywood for Storybrooke, Maine, and 'Mayor' would've been too official, but Cora Mills sure was something to that town. She gave her nod to things that pleased her, and things that didn't never lasted very long. Like Daniel, Regina's mind bit. He certainly hadn't lasted long in Storybrooke under Cora's thumb.

     "Are you listening, dear?" Cora snapped her fingers at her daughter, and pursed her lips. "Off in some daydream, naturally. Don't your mother's affairs concern you?" Her disapproving, harsh tone pulled a thread from an argument, 'discussion,' they had often.

     "Oh, they of course concern me, mother." But Regina could be concerned for the townspeople, too. She heard whispers, rumors, 'concerning' her mother. That her mother was the biggest blackmailer and underhanded cheat on the east coast. Sometimes Regina let herself admire her mother's power, her mother's influence. Sometimes that looked like freedom to her. And maybe it would be, since Regina was expected to one day carry the Mills name across Storybrooke. Maybe she could do things different. Toying with the hem of her skirt, Regina knew her mother still wanted to placated. Because even in this house, Cora Mills had the say so. "I was just thinking about maybe a beautification project, or something to give back to the town. You know, settle some of the unrest?" An almost-genuine smile played on Regina's face, hopeful, even in the small ways.

"Unrest?" Cora's mouth twisted into a dark smile, as Regina's faded. "My town doesn't see unrest."


	4. Chapter 4

     Emma had found the outside of the place a little run down, but could-be charming. Another hole in the wall to add to the list. She took a spot in the corner, just watching, eyes twitching over the whole place. The first days always secretly excited her; she wouldn't even admit it to herself. She noticed one of the bartenders over-pouring...one of the security team already half-drunk. Girls danced topless on tables, scores of men getting touchy and excited around them. Nudity didn't bother her, she wasn't a  _prude_ like some would accuse her of being. But respectable places had a shirt-shoes-service rule. And this _would_ be a respectable place. The band was fenced off, and still broken bottles bounced off the stage. Emma recognized the band from a few clubs she worked in before. Old friends were hard to come by and good to see.   
  
     "What can I get you, sweetheart?" A bartender disrupted Emma's silence among the noise and let his eyes linger on her a little too long for her liking. He was the bartender over-pouring for his friends at the bar. Probably every night, she reasoned. He still stood, one hand on the bar, leaning towards her, face growing impatient. "Hon?"   
  
    For a second Emma considered a quick-change to a personality that would get her information from the guy without him even realizing. But if she was going to be working with him, or more likely firing him, that simply wasn't necessary.   
  
    "What's your name?" She asked, eyes still on the dance floor, watching a young couple begin to argue. 3...2...1.....she counted in her head until the woman pushed the man, throwing him briefly off balance before he rebounded and pushed over a table. Obscenities, obscenities, 'you were  _looking_ at  _him,'_ obscenities. "I'll take a coffee. Black." She heard him sigh.  
  
     "Peter. Call me Pete. All the pretty ladies do." He handed her the coffee, but his eyes winked at ladies down the bar. Ladies who didn't seem any more interested than she was. "What's  _your_ name, then?"  
  
     "How long have you worked here, Pete?" Emma kept her mouth set in a line as she caught Ruby's eye from the upstairs loft office. The brunette seemed relieved. She hadn't been  _sure_ Emma would come.   
  
     "He's practically brand new! Six months or less, really. Most of us have been here longer, I'm Mary Margaret. Anything you need, you just let me know!" A bubbly woman bounced next to Emma at the bar, leaning over to clean glasses and deposit tips. Emma had watched  her serve customers who were  _too appreciative_ and wondered how the woman could stand it without swatting them with her serving tray. _That_ Emma knew she could put a stop to. Her bars were strictly  _hands off_ operations. Or she took their hands  _off._  
  
     "Name's Emma Swan." She barely offered the friendly waitress a half-smile, but she decided she liked her. New friends could be good like the old. God knows they helped turnaround, at least.   
  
     "Emma Swan! Oh, Ruby said you'd be coming! We've all heard-"  
  
     "The stories are falsehoods, I can tell you that. Does this bar make any money?" Emma met the girl's eyes for the first time, took her eyes off the security guys struggling to get the quarreling couple out the door now. Two tables had been broken in the process, and a chair, plus shattered glasses and other displaced customers. The security here all moved as impulsive individuals. Trading blows when they should have been an extraction unit. The fight was starting to ripple throughout the bar. Chaos would come, if it wasn't there already, and it'd be another night of spilled blood and spilled beer. The place was about to get trashed.  
  
     "Aren't you gonna stop 'em? You know, rip their arms off and send 'em packing? The  _infamous_ Swan. You haveta know you don't look like much, sweetheart." Pete talked again from behind the bar and Mary Margaret gathered the next round of drinks for a table, her head down. Emma almost smiled just to spite him but she knew he wouldn't get it. Guys like him never got it. It wasn't about being the biggest guy in the room. That didn't work with a lot of the idiots she mopped floors with.   
  
      _Granny's_ erupted into a swirl of broken glass, thrown chairs, and threats. Nothing Emma hadn't seen or stomped out before, but this sure wasn't going to be an easy one. None of them were easy. A flicker of thought popped in her head, about retiring as a fisherman, or maybe a basket weaver, and the thought broke as she sidestepped a man thrown nearly into her. The band was packing up, and the place was still full of noise. Te shatter of glass, the thud of fists, and of course, the  _obscenities._ Hooligans always were a bunch of potty-mouths.  
  
     "Remember me?" Emma let herself backstage, wading through the bars' wreckage, surprising the lead singer, David. They went back a few years, she hadn't seen him in a long while. He was a better singer than should be playing this place, she couldn't help but think. Places like this popped up like weeds, she figured. Bands looking for places to play will play the places they can.   
  
      "Emma!  _Granny's_ finally got it right and called you? God, this place is a real hellhole. Nothing like the war zones you've seen I'm sure, but I've gotta sing over this racket. Good to see you, Swan." He clapped a hand over her back and Emma almost stiffened but thought took over reflex. She always wanted her thought to take over reflex. "Let me buy you a drink, this place'll clear out soon. They'll all take a trip to the local hospital and we'll get a chance to catch up. You're gonna rip this operation apart. I take it Ruby took my advice?"


	5. Chapter 5

     "You're out. You're out.  _You're_ out. The rest of you, stay if you'll listen and leave if you won't. Am I being clear?" Emma had finished her coffee, and the staff had tried to clean up the place to their credit. Once the bar closed and the whispers spread about who she was.  _Damned rumors._ She liked to say they were all lies, slander, and most probably were. She didn't buy into the lore about herself, she just knew herself and knew what she could handle. This bar she could handle. Mostly she knew the type of shitheads she'd be dealing with around here. Pete the bartender was gone. Stealing, over-pouring, was no longer going to fly at Granny's. As far as she could tell the other bartenders were straight. She'd let one of the waitresses go who she could tell had been dealing drugs. And one of the security guys who she could tell just didn't have the temperament for her line of work. She was leaning back on the bar, facing the rest of the staff. Pete still lingered, mouth open in disbelief.  
  
    "Ruby, baby, you're gonna let this bitch  _fire_ me?" Pete tried to plead his case. Ruby looked to Emma, and Emma carried on with her introduction, and eventually Pete stormed off like the petulant child he'd probably deep down always be, still snarling insults and threats. Now, _bullies_ Emma really hated. Her calm attention back on the staff, she continued.   
  
     "If you listen to me, we'll get this place clean, making money. You won't have to come to work scared of your customers, and you won't have to worry your jobs on the fence. Got it? My policies are simple. You do what I ask, you'll be alright. I have a bit of experience in this line of work,  and it'll be a rough start but we'll get this place clean. We work as a team now, all of us. For Ruby here, and for Granny, and for  _Granny's._ Got it? That means, first of all, never underestimate anybody. You can be the meanest, ugliest dude here and someone else can take you down. We'll take down the big, nasty guys together, got it? And second of all, no more picking fights  _in_ the bar's doors. This place is losing money to furniture and clean up costs that could be paying your wages. Throw 'em out and be done. And lastly, we're all gonna be real nice here. Bars are a service industry.  _Service_ everybody in here. People can be walked out, talked out, and when I tell you, stomped out. Almost everyone responds to niceness. And people that don't,  _I'll_ deal with. These guys, trouble makers, that come in here _want_ a fight, they want to get you riled up, they want to make a mess and give you a headache. Don't get riled up. You're the bouncers, I'm the cooler. We all work for  _Granny's_ here, and we all work for each other.  Sound fair?" The staff blinked between them, and Ruby looked hopeful that things would change. Things would have to change. That's why she called Emma Swan. 


	6. Chapter 6

     Her first night  _on-duty_ showed promise, she could admit. They all showed up wearing the new uniforms, the physical reminder of the _team_ at play. The guys had handled small stuff _nicely_ , and of course there was an asshole with a knife. Why did all the assholes in the world have knives? Eventually someone would have really tested the staff tonight, Emma figured why not  _this_ asshole in particular. Stepping up, arms still folded, Emma's heart beat steady.  
  
     "We're just having a good time here,  _lady,"_ Asshole waved his knife at her, and the rest of the bouncers kept their distance. One table had already been taken out, and the hush of the crowd focused on them, something Emma was somewhat familiar with. The guy lunged at her, out of patience, and she disarmed him, hand behind his back, head pressed to the table in two swift seconds, a flash of motion and stillness all at once.   
  
     "Time for you to have a good time somewhere else, huh?" She talked down into his ear, and handed him off to two guys who's names she hadn't memorized yet. They seemed cooperative, genuinely willing to work, and listen to her. One of them smiled at her, the dazed look of awe, and took the Asshole off her hands.   
  
    Ruby sat at the end of the bar, smiling with Mary Margaret. She should've went and got Emma  _months_ ago, before it got this bad.   
  
     "It'll get worse, you know. Guys'll test us. Wanna fight back harder. Right now we've got the element of surprise. Ladies running a rough-house outfit, now who's expecting that?" Emma let a smile slip for her, sipped a coffee and wanted to shirk away from the gratitude in Ruby Lucas' face. She'd seen it dozens of times before. It was her job, though. All bad-cop all the time. She couldn't wait to see what _that_ asshole had done to her tires. 


	7. Chapter 7

      Of course Regina heard Gold come in. Mr.Gold, her mother's special associate. Regina could never quite work out what their history was, if they even liked each other, or just took turns at blackmail until it was sort of a partnership. Gold ran a pawn shop, the local fencing operation. Cora could funnel any morally-gray money into it, and in return granted Gold's favors with only minimal lip-pursing. They were a toxic team, and personally grating on Regina. No one in Storybrooke twitched a muscle without Gold or Cora's approval, a fact Regina had come to accept as a way of life.  
  
     "Morning, dearie. Had any good nightlife, lately?" A gloved hand rested on his cane, Gold smirked at Regina. Even now she fought off a chill in his voice, even long after he'd stopped really scaring her.  
  
     "Oh, of course not. My daughter doesn't sample the local riff-raff  _anymore._ " Cora's voice spoke for Regina, and told a story they both hated. "Except  _tonight_ , Regina, you must. Have Robin accompany you, of course. But go speak to Miss Ruby Lucas at  _Granny's._ Apparently she fired poor Peter Gold last night." Cora's dark eyes flicked to Gold's, away from Regina. It was the tiniest bit relieving.  
  
    "Can you believe that? My boy, Peter. Fired him on the spot. No severance package, no respect. What kind of place does she think she runs, too good for my son?" Gold never raised his voice, his tone just swelled harsh and nasty; warning. Threatening you without discretion. "But you'll set her straight, right Regina?"  
  
     "Mother...what do you expect me to do? March in and burn the furniture until she hires him back?" Regina hated when they tried to actively involve her. Robin could threaten and sneer on his own she didn't need to be there for that. Her mother's countenance resolved unchanged.   
  
     "Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something, dear. Take Robin, he'll keep the local streethounds off you." Cora had the assuring tone of a mother, with all the force of the boss.  
  
      _And keep an eye on me,_ Regina couldn't help but think. And that was the problem with Storybrooke wasn't it? There wasn't a damn place away from her mother's eyes. 


	8. Chapter 8

     Mary Margaret was up on stage, singing a duet with David and the band. Almost everyone in the bar seemed to be having a genuinely good time; Emma hadn't seen a knife all night. Emma watched a brunette approach Ruby at the end of the bar. Her head back, and chin high; she didn't fit in  _Granny's_ , that Emma knew for sure. The girl's eyes darted over the bar in derision that was nearly tangible.   
  
    "Miss Mills...What can I do for you?" Ruby met eyes with Emma from down the bar as she spoke to the girl. "What can I get you?"   
  
    Ducking behind the bar, Ruby poured who she recognized as Cora Mills' daughter a rum-and-coke, pushing the glass over the bar towards the girl.   
  
    Emma couldn't help but size up the woman. Her eyes trailed over the hem of a tight skirt, and the curve of a pressed suit jacket. Women that dressed like that didn't drink rum-and-cokes; Emma knew that much. Throwing her hair over her shoulder, the woman stepped closer to the bar, then stepped back and set her jaw.  
  
    "Please, call me Regina. I'm actually here about Peter Gold. An errand for my mother. You see, there's been a mistake. Maybe we could talk in your, um. Office." Regina took one look at the offered glass and knew she wouldn't be caught dead drinking here. She could hardly believe she was in this place now. Picturing her mother strolling stilettos in this dump almost made Regina smile, though. She waved Robin off as Ruby led her upstairs to a back office, away from some of the noise of the band and crowd.   
  
    Emma watched the pair disappear upstairs, and she watched  _Miss Mills'_ muscled shadow _pout_ at the bottom of the flight. Emma caught Mary Margaret's eye and nodded her over to the bar.   
  
    "Oh, you don't know Regina. I forgot, it's like you've been here forever but you really haven't. Regina's....old money in Storybrooke. Her family has certain...ties, you know? Nobody messes with them, or her. We kind of used to be friends, actually. Like a really long time ago. Trust me, you wanna stay away from the Mills. And Robin there. His bark's worse than his bite, but he can be a nuisance. I  _told_ you firing Peter was going to bite you; now look, the Mills are involved, shit. Poor Ruby, I know her and Granny were excited about this place doing well again." Mary Margaret grabbed the next tray of beers for a table over and clucked her tongue.   
  
     _Certain ties._ There were families with certain ties in every town; usually Emma tried to avoid those families. Sometimes she couldn't. Heading upstairs, she stood outside the door, listening for trouble in the office. Keeping one eye on the bar, Emma couldn't help but wonder about Regina Mills, of Storybrooke. Suddenly, in a flurry of heeled feet and pressed skirt, Regina emerged, nearly bumping into Emma on her way out the door.  
  
    "You must be  _Swan_. Regina Mills; glad to see someone wants this place cleaned up. You're not much to look at are you?" Regina almost felt sorry for this blonde. Her mother was about to bulldoze this place, figuratively (for now), and this girl probably had no idea it was to come. Still smiling, Emma lingered in Regina's path, sending Robin clamoring up the stairs towards the pair. "That's okay Robin, it's time for us to go. There's no problem here, is there, Miss Swan?"  
  
     Emma laughed despite herself, but judging from Regina's grim countenance she hadn't been joking.  
  
   " _Miss_ Swan; wow you really don't get out much, huh lady? Name's Emma, most people just call me Swan. What's your business with  _Granny's_?" Emma could admit this girl was gorgeous, apparently the muscled beard she brought in with her would agree, the way he was drooling and watching them. Emma wanted to find out more for herself about the Mills family  _connections._    
  
    "Well, I really don't see how it concerns you; an out-of-towner bouncer. You know how  _high_ the turn over rate for bouncers in Storybrooke are?" Regina's dark eyes sparkled at Emma; her perfectly white teeth in perfect tight smile. Why did Emma feel like this was this woman's equivalent to a slap?  " _Bartenders_ , on the other hand. Now there's a position with longevity." Regina nodded down the stairs at Peter Gold.  
  
    The shit-eating grin on Pete's face pissed Emma off, and amused her a little, too. The  _Mills_ were clearly used to throwing around their weight in Storybrooke.  
  
     "Actually, Peter doesn't work here, anymore. I don't know what deal you think you have with  _Granny's_ , but I insist you consider it terminated. Let me walk you all out; it's the least I can do." Emma's jaw twitched as she saw Robin step closer towards her. Emma's hand had already reached for the small of Regina's back.  
  
   Robin's hand went to grab Emma's arm just as she pulled it back, and for a second chaos threatened. Peter ran up the stairs, charging at Emma- sending her against the wall, and sending Regina reeling back, too.   
  
     


	9. Chapter 9

     "That's  _enough_." Regina Mills' voice broke the fluidity of the fight, leaving only Robin still moving towards Emma. "Robin," her voice warned, Emma heard it, too.   
  
     "Look, I don't know who you people think you are, but consider Granny's closed to you, alright? As in, time for you to leave, now." Emma watched Regina flick dark hair from her face, and they both watched Robin retreat to Regina's side. No one else moved, and Emma ground her teeth for a moment. "Miss Mills, if I could have a word with you then?  _No pets allowed_." Pointing to the  _no pets_ sign, and then giving Robin an amused look, Emma felt she made her point pretty clear.   
  
     Following the blonde into the office, Regina could barely fight an eye roll.   
  
     "Miss Swan, I understand you're new to town, you don't understand my mother's operation, how Mr. Gold works, how Storybrooke functions. Firing Peter Gold makes you no friends, you must understand  _that_ , at least." Regina knew Peter Gold to be a snake- but her mother didn't care about that. Examining a fingernail, Regina's doing what she's done a thousand times, explaining how to get along with Cora Mills- explaining how to exist in Cora Mills' world. They're lessons she'd resisted at first, but being this go-between, this Mills' missionary is a position Regina admits to herself she's uniquely qualified for.  
  
     "Maybe, I don't need friends like you and Peter Gold. And maybe it's time Storybrooke decided for itself how to function." Licking a spot of blood from her lip, where Peter Gold had gotten in his one hit, Emma looked at the Regina Mills in the office with her. Rather than being the heels and family name, the woman's voice had gone softer, her eyes more cast down. "Well, I don't need friends like Peter Gold, anyway. You said your mother's operation and Mr. Gold's dealings? What kind of not-friends am I up against here?" Crossing her arms, Emma could  _just_ hold back a smile at Regina's balk.   
  
     "Miss Swan-"  
  
      " _Emma-_ "  
  
      _"Emma_ , when powerful people even suspect their power is becoming diminished, threatened, do you know how they react?" Looking up into Emma Swan's face, Regina could only consider how a girl like her had gotten into the bouncer business.   
  
     "I'm assuming you do?" Emma winced a smile. With a shrug, she opened the office door for Regina and started following her out. "Peter Gold's employment at  _Granny's_ has been terminated. I'm sorry, but that's how it is. So what, liquor license issues? More taxes? Is Robin gonna pop my car's tires again? What can I expect from Storybrooke's _powerful_ people?" Emma paused for a second, sharing a look with Regina as they entered Robin's earshot again. Shaking her head, Regina could actually pity the girl.   
  
     "If I were you, Miss Swan, I would start running." She's heels and family name again, Emma recognized the change in her eyes.   
  
     Folding her arms back over her chest, Emma took up her corner in the bar to overlook it again; the night at Granny's resumed with little but the air changed, for the moment.


End file.
